The heavy-handedness of the operation and the refusal to parlay with the attackers was typical of the tactics evolved by the Algerian military in the 1990s in its fight with the supporters of the Islamic Salvation Front and its more radical offshoots. Algeria has been criticized by European nations for not warning them that such an operation was about to be launched, but its government insists that it did let others, including the US, know what they were planning.